New Orleans judicial candidates clash over contentious ad

In an eleventh-hour attack that the Ellen Hazeur judicial campaign has likened to the infamous Willie Horton television ad, Regina Bartholomew is bashing her rival for the Division B seat at Orleans Civil District Court for seeking leniency for a cold-blooded killer. While she was a member of the City Council 16 years ago, Hazeur wrote a letter on behalf of Willie Smith Jr., who had been convicted of gunning down an unarmed childhood friend with an AK-47 following a fender-bender.

Regina Bartholomew, left, and Ellen Hazeur

In TV ad and a mail piece, the Bartholomew camp displays mugshots of Smith atop a smiling photo of Hazeur and poses the question: "Do you trust her judgment?"

Hazeur, who has served as 1st City Court clerk since she left the council in 2000, has fired back with her own TV spot.

Calling the Bartholomew attack "misleading," Hazeur, speaking directly into the camera, says: "I wrote a character reference for the defendant's parent. I did not ask the judge for leniency. My letter did not influence the sentence given by the judge, and the son was sent to jail for a long time."

After a jury found Smith guilty of manslaughter, Criminal Court Judge Frank Shea sentenced him to 35 years in prison in December 1995.

In a letter to The Times-Picayune that Hazeur sent a week after the sentencing, she said that writing on Smith's behalf was "a mistake on my part, and one which will not be repeated."

She wrote that her correspondence to Shea was sent at the request of Smith's father, a former criminal sheriff's deputy, and that her "brief statement" focused on "the character of the Smith family."

At the time she wrote the letter, Hazeur said she did not have details of the shooting "or the defendant's history."

Ron Nabonne, Hazeur's campaign manager, said the hit by Bartholomew is an attempt to "invoke Willie Horton even though the facts are not the same at all."

Horton, a convicted murderer who became a focal point of Vice President George H.W. Bush's victory over Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential race, raped a woman while on a weekend furlough.

Nabonne said Hazeur's letter had no impact on Smith's sentence and that he remains behind bars.

In her televised rebuttal, Hazeur notes that then-District Attorney Harry Connick, who prosecuted Smith, was aware of her letter and is supporting her bid for a Civil District Court judgeship on Saturday.

Two of Hazeur's colleagues on the council, Jim Singleton and Oliver Thomas, also sent letters on Smith's behalf.

In another twist to the tale, BOLD, the political organization once headed by Singleton and Thomas, is backing Bartholomew in the judicial contest.

TRASH TALK

Hazeur has produced her own attack mailer, which targets Bartholomew's fiance, trash hauler Jimmie Woods, the owner of Metro Disposal Inc., which holds one of the city's largest contracts.

In the elaborate, 10-page piece, Hazeur calls Woods the "elephant in the room," labels his contract "controversial," and charges that he is "using our tax dollars to support politicians and political groups who in turn are supporting his girlfriend."

The flier, which displays a photo of Bartholomew, Woods and their toddler son, also notes the wealthy businessman has made thousands of dollars in contributions to elected officials who are now backing Bartholomew.

Among those listed are U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, Sheriff Marlin Gusman, City Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell and state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson.

Woods "is calling in all his political IOUs for his girlfriend," the flier says.

Bartholomew called the attack mailer "a pathetic and despicable attempt at diverting the focus" of the campaign away from experience and qualifications.

"The idea that Ellen Hazeur believes there is nothing wrong with using a photo of my 2-year-old child in a smear piece is shameful and indicates she lacks the temperament and judgment to be a good judge," Bartholomew said in a statement.

Bartholomew, who produced a copy of a 1999 campaign finance report showing a $1,000 contribution that Hazeur got from Woods, said her opponent sought the same endorsements that she did.